He also played on the most placid home tracks and the most of any of those listed againts minnows. It balances out.

Na, I've always found that logic to be stupid, completely unfair and meaningless. You could just as easily say that every Indian batsman has probably missed out on scoring tons of runs against **** Indian bowlers. It's no coincidence that virtually every great batsman, apart from a handful average something ridiculous against India.

I picked Tendulkar.. Best batsman I've had the pleasure of watching, just a smidgen ahead of Lara. He's, at various stages of his career dominated attacks, carried the team on his shoulders for many years in the 90s, averaged nearly 60 after facing a decade of high quality bowling, scored runs against the best attacks, and hasn't been mediocre anywhere. He's done it all for almost two and a half decades and done it with great beauty and flair too. Doesn't matter that he's been **** for a while now, nor does it matter that I haven't been a fan of his attitude since the world cup... he's provided more special memories to cricket fans than any other batsman of the last few generations.
The fact that I'm Indian obviously brings in a teensy bit of bias too, which makes it a given that I'd pick him.

He also played on the most placid home tracks and the most of any of those listed againts minnows. It balances out.
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So why don't the SC bowlers get extra points for bowling well on these most placid of tracks?

And smalishah's avatar is the most classy one by far Jan certainly echoes the sentiments of CW

Yeah we don't crap in the first world; most of us would actually have no idea what that was emanating from Ajmal's backside. Why isn't it roses and rainbows like what happens here? PEWS's retort to Ganeshran on Daemon's picture depicting Ajmal's excreta

pitches in the subcontinent are mostly flat but also low on bounce and sometimes uneven not really conducive for hit through the line kind of batting which Tendulkar likes. Indian tracks are not similar to flat tracks in Australia or England (when Richards made those mountain of runs in 76) where a batsman can hit through the line. Ask Tendulkar he would prefer the flat tracks of Aus, Eng, NZ than India. may be that is the reason why his average in India is less than in Eng and Aus.

Will resist the temptation to answer the broader question of sc bowlers.

The point is that if Indian batsmen get penalized for scoring mountains of runs on flat tracks then the bowlers should get extra points for getting wickets on those same flat tracks. You can't have it both ways.

I'd definitely include Barry Richards and Graham Pollock had they played more tests.

I think Barry Richards is most probably the second greatest batsman of all time. But 4 tests isn't enough.

I guess my criterion has been very simple (perhaps too simple).. Barry was a better bat than Viv, more complete, more joyous to watch, so Viv cannot be the second best. Watching Barry bat gave you the right kind of happiness, Viv gave you a slightly cruder (hollower?) form of happiness (I know I will be mocked for this). Sobers was the most dashing left hander I ever saw, so Pollock and Lara cannot be the second greatest. Hobbs' record is just astounding, and I have no way to rule him out. Tendulkar because he gave me an immense amount of joy, and as an Indian, it is impossible to take that bias out even if I try

P.S. Not going to consider Grace, because then we might as well close this thread, and start a new one!

Last edited by harsh.ag; 19-03-2013 at 10:23 AM.

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